


The Yawn-and-Stretch Maneuver

by soaringrachel



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, happy aus to soothe my soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soaringrachel/pseuds/soaringrachel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ned takes Catelyn to the movies in Maine, and nobody dies at all nope that doesn't happen okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Yawn-and-Stretch Maneuver

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a 30-day challenge on tumblr; I'm changing art prompts into writing prompts. This was for the prompt "gaming/watching a movie", which I interpreted as "write some fluffy au fic about Ned/Catelyn not paying attention to various terrible films in an world where nobody they love dies because dying is sad."
> 
> I may have some unresolved issues?
> 
> Disclaimer: does not contain the actual yawn-and-stretch maneuver.

It isn't even a date. Well, it isn't his date.

Brandon calls Ned from college, says he has to go to the game that weekend but could Ned please take Catelyn Tully to the movies on Saturday night. "Better than leaving her alone, I figure," he says, and Ned chews his lip but agrees. He likes Catelyn, the few times he's met her; her family moved up from Tennessee a couple years ago and she's been dating Brandon kinda casually ever since; Ned's buddy Jon has a thing for her sister. He doesn't know much about her, but she's got pretty hair and she goes to a different church in the next town over—that much everyone in the county must know.

He meets her at the theater—he got a car for his birthday, but he's supposed to share with Lyanna and she's on a real date tonight. ("Every night," he might have muttered at her. "Give me a turn." But he tossed her the keys like he always does.) So he meets Catelyn in the lobby, where the posters are peeling and there're doors open to only two screens. Ned loves his hometown, but rural Maine's not a great place to see movies. "Ned," he says, and she smiles. "Call me Cat," she tells him. He can't help but notice she really does have pretty hair.

Brandon had plans to take her to some crappy romantic comedy, starring someone named Julia or Emma or something, so that's what they sit through, watching the brunette flirt with some crew-cutted guy while her chubby blonde friend gets into scrapes. Halfway through, Cat turns to him. "You wanna get out of here?" she whispers, and Ned nods a little too enthusiastically. "Burgers?" he asks, and they head down to the diner to eat.

 

Over that first meal Ned learns that she's close with her sister, that she misses Tennessee like crazy, that she's studying world history at the community college. "You're smart enough to go away," he says. "Didn't you want to go back home?"

She shrugs. "This made the most sense," she says. "My dad needs me here, you know? I wouldn't want to leave him alone with Lysa and my brother."

Ned nods; that makes sense to him, putting your family first. So he also learns that he likes Catelyn Tully quite a bit.

He thinks she's sad to have missed his brother, but she doesn't say anything about that.

 

The next time he calls her up himself. "Brandon's staying at school again," he says. "Wanna see a movie?"

"Sure," she says, "what's playing?"

It's some science-fiction thing; he thinks it might be based on one of the books his babysitter used to read to him when he was little. Or maybe a comic book—more Robert's thing than his. This time they make it through the whole movie, whispering to each other every few seconds to laugh at the ridiculous costumes or try to make heads or tails of the plot.

"That was awful," Ned says afterward, "I'm so sorry." Cat laughs, and he loves the sound of her laugh. "Don't be sorry," she says, "it was nice seeing it with you," and for some reason Ned's chest feels tight all the next day.

 

The first two times he calls Brandon up afterward and gives him a rundown, but the third time he doesn't tell him. He's not sure why he keeps it a secret. It's not like Ned would ever do anything inappropriate, not like Catelyn ever would—which is one of the reasons he likes her so much, that he doesn't worry she'd stop being loyal to Brandon. It's nice spending time with her, different from Jon, who's older and still feels like his troop leader more than his friend, or from Robert, who's always good fun but isn't much more. Not like Catelyn, who the third time they go to the movies is late because she's sewing quilts for charity, who talks to him over ice cream after about the War of 1812.

This time it's a tearjerker, with a dead dog in it; that always bothers Ned, dead dogs. Cat likes it though, shrugs afterward and says she supposes you can't always have happy endings, and she doesn't mind a movie that shows that.

Ned leaves it a week before the guilt gets to him and he picks up the phone. He calls Brandon first, and tells him about their hanging out, and then he calls Catelyn and tells her that the new Bond movie's in, and does she want to see it with him?

 

They go to the Bond movie, and the kung fu thing, and the Disney film. And they talk--about treachery, about fighting, about kids.

Ned calls his brother every time. His brother never calls him, and he never seems to get to town.

 

And then it's over.

Because the whole idea here was that he only saw Cat when they went to the movies, and here she is at his house, crying.

"Brandon called it off," she says, and Ned's not sure what to do, just holds her until all of a sudden she sits up and wipes her tears.

"I'm not even sad," she says, shaking her head, "I'm just confused."

 

A couple weeks later Ned gets a call.

"Ned," the voice on the other end says, a little Southern color stealing into its vowels, "there's that new movie coming to town this week. Looks pretty scary. You wanna go with me?"

"Hey," Ned says, "You might need someone to hold your hand."     


End file.
